Gas furnace switch from natural gas to propane

Switching your gas furnace from natural gas to propane has advantages and disadvantages and this process will require a conversion kit.

A gas furnace heats the air in your house by passing it over a heat exchanger, which is hot and raises the temperature of the air before it is distributed throughout your home.

You can switch your gas furnace from natural gas to propane, but this requires a conversion kit and has some advantages and disadvantages that you need to take into account.

How do gas furnaces work?

Having a furnace or central HVAC system can be particularly convenient, as this will allow you to stay cool during hot, summer months, and warm up your home during the colder, winter months.

However, very few homeowners know how their gas furnace actually heats their homes.

A gas furnace works by heating a burner that burns the natural or propane gas. This heat is then fed into a heat exchanger, which becomes hot.

After this, the furnace takes in the colder air from your home and passes it over this hot heat exchanger, where the air is warmed.

The warmer air is then blown and distributed through your home by means of the ductwork in your home. This hotter air slowly raises the overall temperature of your indoor spaces.

Gas furnace switch from natural gas to propane

When you know how a gas furnace works, it is easier to understand how a furnace can be converted from natural gas to propane.

The most crucial thing to remember in this instance is that converting your furnace from natural gas to propane is a complicated process, and if you do not have expert knowledge about gas appliances, you may need to consider contacting a professional to help you make the switch.

This will ensure that there are no gas leaks in your system and that your gas furnace continues to be safe to operate in your house.

Whether you know how to convert gas appliances yourself or you are getting an expert to help you, you will most likely need to purchase a conversion kit with which to switch your natural gas furnace to a propane furnace.

However, before you jump into purchasing a natural gas to propane conversion kit for your air conditioner, you should first carefully consider some of the benefits of propane furnaces over natural gas furnaces and some of the disadvantage of having a propane gas furnace, to ensure that this is really the suitable choice for your household.

The natural gas to propane furnace conversion kit

When you want to switch your furnace from using natural gas to using propane, you need to purchase a conversion kit.

This will ensure that your furnace can compensate for the differences in pressure between propane and natural gas and that it will not break down in the process.

Experts recommend that you purchase a natural gas to propane conversion kit directly from your furnace manufacturer to ensure that all of the valves and pipes fit together correctly.

However, you may also be able to find aftermarket parts that are compatible with your furnace, such as this Natural to LP Propane Conversion Kit BAYLPKT210B, which fits Trane and American Standard products.

Gas furnace switch from natural gas to propane
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You then need to follow the instructions on the conversion kit carefully or research the process properly to ensure that there are no gas leaks, pressure problems, or flow problems in the system once you are done.

The advantages of propane gas furnaces over natural gas furnaces

The most common reason why homeowners switch from natural gas to propane for their furnaces, is because propane is a particularly clean and energy-efficient way of heating your furnace.

Even though propane is not low-cost, it does heat more with each gallon than natural gas. This means that propane heats your home faster, uses energy in intervals and not constantly, and has a lower operating cost in the long term.

As an added bonus, propane is clean-burning and it cannot spill, so it will not leave a sticky residue on your floors over time.

The disadvantages of propane gas furnaces over natural gas furnaces

Even though there are many advantages to using propane gas to heat your furnace, there are also several factors about the switch from natural gas to propane that you need to take into account before you make the final choice to convert your furnace.

The most obvious consideration is that the effort and cost of converting your furnace may not be worth it if you have natural gas readily available. Natural gas is also less expensive to purchase, although it may not be as efficient as propane.

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